Apprenticeship
by WingsOfMorphius
Summary: Obsessed with learning more about Danny Phantom, Paulina becomes Mrs. Fenton’s apprentice in ghost hunting, overcoming tacky outfits, the disapproval of friends and family and the occasional evil ghost.
1. Lesson 1

**WoM- _I was a little surprised at the response the picture I drew for this one got. I only had about three or four people threaten to gouge out their own eyes, while everyone else was giddy with anticipation. Apparently, the thought of Paulina as a ghost hunter amuses some people, for some reason or another…_**

_**As usual, I don't own anyone or anything other then my own creativity, which isn't up for sale, trade or theft. I find anyone responsible for the third one, and my boot goes up their butt, got it? **_

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**Paulina:** Hi, I'm Paulina. I'm cute, swell, and full of bigheaded anime goodness!

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**Lesson 1 **

Paulina sighed heavily as she poured over the magazine, carefully studying each dress before finding some reason or another to dismiss it and move on to the next. After a while, she lost her patience and threw the magazine across the room with a shriek of anger. On the other side of the Latina's bed, Star flinched at what promised to be the start of another tantrum.

"Nothing!" Paulina snapped hotly, her aqua-colored eyes flashing angrily. "None of those dresses would work!"

"Come on, Paulina." Star soothed her friend, picking the magazine up from where it had landed. "I'm sure you'd look great in any one of these!"

"I don't want to look great!" Paulina huffed. "I want to look perfect! I want everyone's eyes on me! And no plain old dress will do that for me… I need a dress that no one's ever seen before, something so gorgeous people can't help but stare!"

"Wow, you're really going all out for this, aren't you, Paulina?" Star said, raising an eyebrow at her friend.

"It's Prom." Paulina responded haughtily, sticking her nose up at another of her many fashion magazines. "Which means it's my last chance to make a lasting impression."

"Well, I'm sure we'll find something before long. We still have two months, after all…"

"You mean we _only_ have two months." Paulina corrected glumly, collapsing on her bed in a very dramatic fashion. "Two months to find a dress and my date!"

"Aren't you going with Dash?" Star asked, a little surprised. "I mean, you two have been dating for nearly two years now…"

"That's just casual." Paulina said absently. "We're not serious or anything. It's just one of those time killing things."

"You're the only girl in the world who will date someone casually for a whole two years, Paulina." Star sighed, rolling her eyes. "I mean, Kwan and I went steady after a week!"

"Dash knows I don't love him." Paulina said, annoyed that she had to explain this to her friend. "He's seen my locker, he knows my heart belongs to Phantom, so he knows I'm not serious, and he's totally okay with that." The blonde frowned thoughtfully at that remark before sighing a little.

"Does Phantom have anything to do with you not going to Prom with Dash, Paulina?" Star asked, looking as though she already knew the answer.

"What do you think?" Paulina asked, scoffing slightly in distain. "Prom is my last chance to be with the ghost boy before I go off to college!"

"Which college are you going to?" Star asked curiously.

"Who cares?" Paulina responded absently, waving the question aside. "Somewhere that'll teach me how to be a model or an actress, I guess."

"That'll be a great career for you!" Star gushed enthusiastically, brightening at the thought. "And just think of how famous you'll become! Not to mention that you'll get to hang out with other famous people all the time…"

"Yeah, but first things first." Paulina reminded the girl firmly, picking up a new magazine and opening it. "I _have_ to find the perfect dress!"

"Well, as much as I'd love to help, I'd better get home. I told mom I'd be back before dinner…"

"Whatever." Paulina responded, not looking up from flipping through the magazine. "See you later, Star."

"Bye Paulina!" Star called before shutting the Latina's door behind her. Sighing, Paulina continued to skim through the magazine until one page caught her eye…

_**LOVE HORISCOPE**_

Paulina brightened at that, sitting up a little straighter. Though she'd never admit it to any of her friends, she'd always taken her horoscopes seriously, ever since her _abuela_ used to read them to her when she was a little girl. She knew they'd only tease her if they knew, like they used to tease her about being superstitious back in middle school (She still was, but thankfully people had forgotten that over time.)

Brushing these thoughts away, Paulina ran a perfectly manicured nail down the page until she got to her sign, squealing when she read it.

_Expect drama in your love life this month. You will have a fateful encounter with the guy you like, and someone will confess their love to you. Keep a clear head and follow your heart and things will work out to your favor._

"A fateful encounter with Phantom!" Paulina giggled, hugging her pillow in excitement. "Maybe he'll save me again! And afterwards, I can ask him to go to Prom with me!" Shrieking in excitement at the thought, Paulina almost missed the pounding on her door.

"Hey, _Primera_!" A boy called out in annoyance before entering the room. "Keep it down already! I've gotta killer test tomorrow, and your squealing is giving me a migraine." Annoyed, Paulina made a face at her cousin.

Diego Sanchez was twenty-two, five years older then Paulina. He was attending Minerva University, a nearby college, and was studying to be a doctor. Unfortunately, the cost of living in the dorm proved too steep for Diego's minimum wage job to handle, so Paulina's father graciously invited his nephew into their home.

Much to the horror of Paulina, who still hadn't forgiven Diego for putting snakes in her bed when she was six…

"So what?" Paulina snapped back, sneering at him. "You're gonna fail, anyways. You spend more time with your girlfriend then your books!"

"Look who's talking, Little Miss Vain USA." Diego shot back, crossing his arms. "At least I can keep a steady girl. You've had more boys marching through that living room then the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade."

"That's because it's harder for you to find a girl, thanks to those Dumbo ears of yours." Paulina replied sweetly as she brushed past her cousin and headed down the stairs.

Diego's response to her in Spanish was hardly flattering.

"I'm going out for a walk, Papa!" Paulina said as she walked through the living room, kissing her father on the forehead as she passed him.

"Be back before dark, baby!" Mr. Sanchez told her with an affectionate smile before he turned back to the Pay-Per-View movie he was watching with his wife.

"Papa…" Paulina sighed heavily. "I'm almost 18!"

"Don't remind him, Paulina." Mrs. Sanchez chuckled, winking at her daughter. "Otherwise, you'll never get out of the house!" Grinning in return, Paulina ducked away, giggling when she heard her father protest the accusation.

The cool night air felt good against her skin as Paulina stepped out to the street, heading towards the park. She smirked slightly the whistling and cat calls of a group of boys crowded around a car on the other side of the street, winking coyly at them before she continued on her way.

_It's good to be the best…_ She thought with a toss of her long black mane, giggling as the boys argued vigorously amongst themselves about who the wink was meant for. She could care less about any of them, but it was funny that they'd all go so far to impress her… _Not that they could._ She added in her head. _None of them could ever hold a candle to the ghost boy…_

The thought of her ghostly love brought a blush to Paulina's cheeks, her pace slowing slightly as she got lost in her memories of him… his intense green eyes, almost hidden by the unruly silver hair she'd kill to run her fingers through… his deep, soothing voice echoing softly every time he spoke… The lithe, muscular build just visible through his skintight hazmat…

_He's perfect._ Paulina sighed, smiling as she closed her eyes. She could almost hear his voice, as if he was right there with her…

"Give it up already, Skulker! I've got better places to be right now, you know…"

_Wait a second…_ Her eyes snapping open, Paulina crept closer to a nearby bush, peeking through it and containing a gleeful squeal at the sight of her ghost boy locked in a stand off again one of his enemies. _It's him! He's really here!_

"Please!" The other ghost (Phantom called him Skulker, right?) scoffed in a scornful sort of way. "What else could you possibly have planned to do tonight, ghost child?"

"Hey!" Phantom said as he blasted at the ghost a couple times. "I have a life other then ghost hunting! Who do you think I am, my dad?" Paulina blinked at that.

_…Huh?_

"Oh really?" Skulker grinned, dodging the blasts. "And what else could you make time for, hmm? Dating? The ghost hunter girl already left you out in the cold, and your utter obliviousness prevents you from seeking advantage of the interests of the other female!" Paulina froze at that, her heart skipping a beat.

_…WHAT?_ She shrieked in her mind. The ghost hunter? She'd devoted all of her love to a boy who was in love with someone else? And one of his kind's mortal enemies at that! Eyes wide, Paulina turned her attention to Phantom, hoping and praying that he'd deny what the other ghost had just said.

"What?" Phantom jerked back, looking at the other ghost in surprise. "How did you… wait, what?"

"Everybody knows." Skulker said, amused at how flustered the ghost boy was acting. "Technus isn't what you'd call cautious with information, after all…"

"Meaning he's a huge gossip." Phantom clarified dryly.

"More or less." Skulker shrugged.

"Well can't you guys talk about something _other_ than my love life?" Phantom asked, sounding annoyed.

"Naturally." Skulker said with a malicious grin. "We also discuss ways to destroy you." And, to emphasize his point, the ghost blasted Phantom while he was off guard, charging up his jet packs to pursue the younger ghost's fall.

Neither ghosts even noticed the stunned Hispanic girl hiding behind the bushes.

* * *

_How can this be…?_

As many times as Paulina has asked herself that in the last hour (while downing seven cups of strong coffee to soothe her frazzled nerves) she still didn't have an answer she was satisfied with. The thought of Phantom being in love with any girl but her made her angry, but knowing that he was in love with a ghost hunter, of all things, made her blood freeze in her veins.

Then there was the hunter herself. Process of elimination had already told Paulina that it couldn't be anyone other then the mysterious Red Hunter, who was by far the best of all the ghost hunters. She also seemed to carry something of a grudge against the ghost boy though, so Paulina had never really considered her a threat romance-wise.

_Big mistake… _Paulina thought, narrowing her eyes and clenching her fist. If she had any idea where Red Hunter was right now, she'd probably hunt her down and scratch her eyes out with her perfectly manicured nails.

Loathe as she was to admit it, she could sort of see why the ghost boy might like the girl. She didn't exactly hide the fact that she had a killer figure underneath that hazmat she flew around in…

_But I'm so much cuter then she could ever be!_ Paulina wailed in her head. _And I don't want to kill him! That has to be worth something!_

"Excuse me, miss." The acne-covered assistant manager squeaked out nervously as he approached Paulina, a faint blush on his cheeks. "But it's time for us to close up for the day… Um, I-if it's not too much to ask, could you… ah… go home or something?" Sighing and rolling her eyes, Paulina stood up, tossing her trash and heading out the door, not even acknowledging when the boy squeaked a "Thank you!" at her retreat.

_Why would he like her?_ Paulina wondered as she walked strolled down the side walk at a leisurely pace. _She's trying to hurt him! It doesn't make sense that a ghost would fall in love with a ghost hunter…_

Try as she might, Paulina couldn't think of any reason Danny Phantom might fall for some second rate ghost hunting hussy over her. So, she did the only thing that she could think to do in her current situation.

Whipping out her cell phone, Paulina dialed her best friend's number, waiting impatiently for her to pick up.

_"Hello?"_

"Hey Star, it's me." Paulina said, stopping at a crosswalk as she spoke.

_"Paulina? Hey, can this wait? Kwan and I are kinda watching a movie right now…"_

"No this can't wait!" Paulina snapped, irritated that her so-called friend found watching a movie more important then helping her through a life crisis. "The ghost boy's in love, Star! And not with me!"

**_"…What?"_** Paulina heard Star murmur something to someone (presumably Kwan.) before she returned to the phone. _"How did you find that out? Did he tell you? Who is she?"_

"I heard him and some other ghost talking about it." Paulina said glumly, crossing the street. "It's that Red Hunter, Star. Can you believe it? He chose some gung-ho stalker over me!"

_"Well, maybe he doesn't know you like him that way…"_ Star responded. _"I mean think about it Paulina, he's always busy fighting some ghost whenever you see him, so he really doesn't have much time to notice what's going on around him…"_

"But we have a connection!" Paulina wailed. "I could feel it the first time he saved me, and the second time I knew for sure! And why a ghost hunter, anyways? She's trying to kill him!"

_"Actually, I don't think you can kill a ghost…"_

"Star!" Paulina growled, her eyes narrowing. "Focus!"

_"Right, sorry!"_ Star said hastily. _"Well, maybe its just 'cause he knows her better. I mean, The only people he's really around enough to decide whether or not he likes them are ghosts or ghost hunters. Everything considered, it's kinda obvious why he'd pick a ghost hunter over some of the ghosts we've seen…"_ Paulina slowed her pace to think about what her friend had just said.

It was true that the ghost boy only ever really seemed to have proper conversations with the ghost hunters or the ghosts that he fought. She'd only ever actually talked to him a handful of times herself, and no one else seemed to get any attention from him at all…

_Meaning I have more of a chance then any of them, if I can just get him to notice me a little more…_ Paulina realized, smirking slightly. Remembering that she was on the phone, Paulina decided to tie up a loose end before she did anymore planning.

"Thanks Star." She said. "I think I know how to fix this… but you can't tell anyone what we just talked about, okay?"

**_"What?"_** Star said, aghast. _"Why not?"_

"If it gets around that the ghost boy is in love with that wicked girl, she might try to use it again him to kill him." Paulina explained soundly, a smirk playing at her lips. "You don't want to be responsible for the death of someone who did so much good, do you Star?"

_"Of course not!"_ Star said quickly, sounding horrified.

"Then you'll keep quiet." Paulina smiled. "You won't tell a single soul what we just spoke of here tonight. Not Kwan, not Valerie, not your own family!"

_"Alright, Paulina."_ Star sighed. _"You have my word, I won't tell anyone a thing, I swear."_

"Great!" Paulina responded happily. "Thanks again, Star, talk to you later!"

_"Hey! Aren't you gonna tell me?"_ Paulina hung up before Star finished her question, altering her path with a determined look set on her face.

_Phantom's the best thing that ever happened to me…_ Paulina thought, her fists clenched at her side. _And I'm not going to give him up without a fight._

The rest of her walk, Paulina carefully planned out every detail of how she was going to handle her newest dilemma, including what she'd tell who and how she'd approach certain people. Upon reaching her destination, Paulina knocked on the door, blinking slightly when she received loud barking in response.

"Down boy, down! Oh honestly, Cerberus…" The door opened at last, to an older brunette woman in blue hazmat holding back a German Shepard pup by the black and white bandana tied around his neck. The woman blinked down at Paulina in surprise for a second before she recovered enough to remember her manners. "Hello there! Can I help you?"

"Yes, Mrs. Fenton…" Paulina said with her best winning smile. "My name's Paulina Sanchez. I was just wondering… are you interested in taking any students?"

_If it's a ghost hunter Phantom wants, it's a ghost hunter Phantom will get…_

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**WoM- _This was actually really fun to write… _'giggles' _I've got this one all planned out, and it's gonna have it's fair share of twists, turns and cliffies. (Then again, it is me…) This will be my very first D/P fic, by the by, and no amount of whining, complaining and flames will change that. I've given you guys fair warning, after all…_**


	2. Lesson 2

**WoM- _Uuurg… as those of you who visited DA might already know, my computer crashed a while back and took all my stories with it. It took me a while to sit down and rewrite this from scratch… Sorry all. ; Anywho, the reaction to this story was pretty much just as predicted (Well, other then the fact that I got over twice as many reviews as I was expecting, anyways.) Group A, who liked the storyline but not the pairing and didn't want to read into it any further because of it. Group B, who liked the storyline enough to give the pairing a chance and Group C, who thanked me a thousand times over for writing a story with this pairing. :D So, with a fond farewell to the first group, I welcome the rest of you back and present you with chapter 2!_**

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**Paulina:** A gentleman usually tips his hat, but I'll give you points for originality.

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**Lesson 2**

It's funny the way life works out sometimes.

If, let's say for example, you'd told Paulina that morning that before the day was out, she'd be sitting at Danny Fenton's dining room table sipping a glass of milk while trying to convince his mother to teach her the finer points of ghost hunting, she'd probably call the nearest insane asylum to drag you away in a straight jacket.

Which is really saying something, considering how horribly unfashionable those things are…

"I don't think you understand what you're asking me to teach you, sweetie." Mrs. Fenton said as she set her over glass down to absently scratch Cerberus behind his ear. The puppy had gone to her for attention after it was made clear that he wasn't gonna get any from their strange new guest. (Who was not about to get dog fur all over her new skirt.) "Ghost hunting is much more dangerous then it looks."

"Oh, I understand, Mrs. Fenton." Paulina said confidently, flashing the brunette across from her a million watt smile. "But it's a risk I'm willing to take for the sake of Amity Park! After all, you and your husband have helped us all so much, and watching you fight has been such an inspiration to me! That's why I want to do my part and help you fight ghosts."

Instead of looking flattered at the not-so-subtle praise Paulina was pouring on her, Maddie Fenton merely hummed thoughtfully with a deep frown. The cheerleader forced herself to stay smiling to hide her growing irritation. Most people would be eating out of the palm of her hands by now…

"Do you know anything about ghost hunting already?" Mrs. Fenton asked lightly. Paulina balked slightly at the question.

"Well… not really…" She admitted. "But that's why I came to you! I mean, who better to teach me then the woman who was voted one of Spookmag's Top Ghost Hunters in the World for the last three years running? And I read that you're nominated again for this year!" Paulina took another sip of milk to hide her smirk as Mrs. Fenton flushed at the praise.

"You read Spookmag?" Mrs. Fenton asked, apparently trying to compose herself.

"All the time, Mrs. Fenton!" Paulina gushed. "In fact, I have a subscription!" Granted, the only reason she _really_ subscribed to the ghost hunting magazine was for their frequent articles on the ghost boy, but it was nice to know it had other uses.

Paulina watched closely as the older woman drummed her gloved fingers absently against the surface of the table. Her resolve was clearly starting to crack, meaning it wouldn't be much longer until she broke down and gave the girl what she wanted…

"Paulina, right?" Mrs. Fenton said, though it didn't sound quite like a question. "How are you doing in school?"

…Well that was an unexpected question.

"School?" Paulina repeated, her eyebrows drawing together at Mrs. Fenton's confirming nod. A little confused, Paulina decided to humor the woman and answered the question. "Okay, I guess… I'm getting As, except for a B- in History." Paulina made a face to express her distaste over that particular subject matter. She never was that good with history… Why should the past matter when the present had so much more to offer her?

"Do you have any extracurricular activities?" Mrs. Fenton pressed on.

"I'm Co-Captain of the Cheer Squad and Treasurer of the Student Council." Paulina responded, unable to keep her smug tone fully at by as she announced this. "I'm also a member of the Dance Committee." And the President of The Danny Phantom Fan Club, but Paulina felt it'd be best if she kept that little tidbit to herself…

"What about your family?" Mrs. Fenton continued. "Will they be alright with you hunting ghosts?"

"Of course, Mrs. Fenton!" Paulina answered immediately. One look around at the living room walls, lined with picture after picture of both of the Fenton children and their assorted accomplishments told her that and other answer would be met with an instant rejection.

"You're sure?" Mrs. Fenton pressed, not looking entirely convinced as she studied the younger girl for signs of falsehood. Before Paulina could assure her any further though, Cerberus shot up from his place at Mrs. Fenton's side, heading for the door at a sprint with an excited bark that scared the cheerleader half out of her wits.

"Aaack! Cerberus! Down, boy! Down! Come on Cerberus, behave!" Ducking her head to hide her smile, Mrs. Fenton rose to her feet to follow the path the dog had taken at a much calmer pace, leaving a slightly embarrassed Paulina alone in the living room.

It's a good thing none of my friends are here to make fun of me for freaking out like that… She thought dryly, trying to compose herself before the ghost hunter returned.

"Well you're home early for once." The Latina heard Mrs. Fenton tease her son. "And I see Jack didn't work all the kinks out of the Fenton Door Detector after all…"

"Haha, mom." Danny griped, passing his mother to head up the stairs and finally entering Paulina's line of sight. The cheerleader rose an eyebrow when she took in the boy's mussed appearance, especially when she noticed he was coated in some strange green slime. "We still have the Anti-Ecto Shampoo and Conditioners, right? This stuff's gonna be murder to get out of my hair if we don't…"

Paulina frowned, mildly surprised (And slightly insulted) that Danny had yet to notice her presence. Before she could correct this though, the object in the Fenton boy's hand caught her eye, and the cheerleader froze in shock.

"Check the hall closet, dear." Mrs. Fenton advised as her son started up to the second level of the house with the German Shepard at his heels, oblivious to Paulina's observation. "And don't forget that you still need to walk Cerberus later!"

Danny grunted in acknowledgement of his mother's command, which appeared to be good enough for Mrs. Fenton. The ghost hunter finally turned back to her younger guest, taking no heed in the girl's baffled expression.

"Now, where were we…?"

That question snapped Paulina back to the task at hand, and the aqua-eyed girl suppressed the urge to march up stairs and question her classmate as she flashed Mrs. Fenton another one of the brilliant smiles that won her the title of Miss Teen Amity Park.

"My family, Mrs. Fenton." Paulina reminded her automatically. "Mama and Papa have always supported everything I do, so I'm sure that they won't mind if you teach me how to ghost hunt."

"You've spoken with them about it, then?" Mrs. Fenton asked with an even look at the girl, as if she already knew what the answer would be. Paulina flinched.

"Well…" Sighing, Mrs. Fenton took a pad of paper and a pen from the coffee table that sat between them, jotting down a number.

"Talk to your parents first, honey." Mrs. Fenton advised, tearing the paper free and handing it to the cheerleader, which appeared to have a phone number written on it. "If they really don't mind you hunting ghosts, then have them call me and we can work out all the details."

"Yes, Mrs. Fenton." Paulina said obediently, already considering the potential angles she could use to convince her parents to go along with this scheme without letting her father know that a boy was involved. "I'll talk to them tonight. Thank you for taking the time to talk with me about this."

"It was no problem at all, dear." Mrs. Fenton said dismissively as she walked the girl to the door. "Actually, it was nice to talk to a sweet girl like you. Feel free to visit even if your parents say no to the ghost hunting thing, Paulina, I'm sure we can find more to discuss. Like that article in Spookmag about altering a ghost's atoms to reduce or eliminate their powers…"

Paulina applauded herself for being able to suppress her wince at the thought of having that particular conversation.

"Thanks again, Mrs. Fenton." She said instead, smiling at the ghost hunter. "I'll be back with my parent's permission." And, after the women exchanged goodbyes, Paulina began her trek back home. It wasn't until she was halfway there that remembered the question she'd wanted to ask Danny before she'd left…

_Why would Fenton have a Thermos like the Ghost Boy's?_

* * *

"Absolutely not!" 

"But Papa…." Paulina whined, openly pouting. "I really want to do this!"

"I'm sorry Paulina, but your father's right. Ghost hunting is just too dangerous for you." Mrs. Sanchez frowned at her daughter curiously, obviously confused about what her daughter was asking to do. "I know you've seen how that ghost boy flies around, getting rammed into buildings and such. If you get involved with that, you could really get hurt."

"It's not like Mrs. Fenton's going to give me a ecto-gun and send me on my way, Mama!" Paulina said, exasperated. "She'll teach me how to defend myself! I won't get hurt Mama, honest!"

"It's still too dangerous!" Mr. Sanchez snapped, glaring at Paulina sternly. "There's not way I'm going to send my little girl off to be killed fighting ghosts!"

"Why don't you leave the ghost hunting to the experts, sweetie?" Mrs. Sanchez suggested mildly.

"Because they might not be enough!" Paulina said, planting her hands on her hips. "I want to be able to help if anything goes wrong!" This statement was met with a mocking snort from her cousin.

"Since when do you care about the common good?" Diego said skeptically.

"No one asked you!" Paulina snapped back before turning to her parents. "Please Papa? You're always worried about me not being able to look after myself, and this could really help me!" His resolve wavering, Mr. Sanchez glanced at his wife, who sighed softly.

"Alright." Mrs. Sanchez relented. "I'll talk to Mrs. Fenton tomorrow when you're out with Dash, and we'll get everything set up." Squealing in delight, Paulina immediately ran to her father, hugging him tightly and pecking him on the cheek before repeating the gesture on her mother.

"Gracias!" Paulina giggled as she bounced away from her parents. "You won't regret this, I promise!" Raising an eyebrow, Diego watched as his cousin bounded up the stairs before turning to his aunt and uncle.

"You're really going to let her go through with this?" He asked incredulously.

"For now." Mrs. Sanchez nodded. "It's probably just another one of her silly fads. She'll get tired of it soon enough, when she realizes that it's too hard or boring."

"And even if she doesn't, it shouldn't be too hard to redirect her interest in a safer direction." Mr. Sanchez added. "Don't worry, this ghost hunting nonsense will be over soon enough…"

* * *

"_You're going to_ **WHAT**_?"_

"Not so loud!" Paulina said, making a face. Star didn't seem to hear her though, and kept staring at her friend like she's grown another head.

The Blonde had been pestering her fellow cheerleader all day in school to tell her exactly what she planned to do now that the Ghost Boy loved the Red Hunter, much to Paulina's irritation. She'd finally managed to get some peace from the matter when she promised to fill Star in at their favorite café while she waited for Dash to come puck her up for their date.

Clearly though, Star had not been expecting what she'd just heard.

"Why on earth would you want to learn to hunt ghosts?" Star asked, clearly baffled. "Is this about Phantom? I mean, I know you don't take rejection well"

"Phantom didn't reject me." Paulina said, glaring at the blonde for even suggesting such a thing. "And it's like you said last night, the only ones who really catch Phantom's attention are ghosts and ghost hunters. So if I become a ghost hunter…"

"Phantom will fall in love with you!" Star realized with a gasp. "Just like he did with the Red Hunt!"

"_Shhhhh_!" Paulina said urgently, looking around for potential eavesdroppers as she clamped her hand over the other girl's mouth. They may have snagged an outside table for privacy, but there were still plenty of people around… "That's a secret, remember?"

"What's a secret?" The Hispanic girl sighed and brushed stray hairs behind her ear as she turned to face her date.

"Nothing." She told Dash as she stood up, adjusting her purse's strap as the jock wrapped an arm around her waist. "Just girl stuff. You don't wanna know… I'll call you tonight when I get back, Star. Later!"

Paulina and Dash turned to leave then, when an excited cry caught the girls attention. Curious, Paulina turned to see a crowd formed around the window of an Electronics Shop, where all of the TV screens were flashing with images of the Ghost Boy. Brightening, Paulina pulled away from her date to find out what was going on, not at all surprised when Dash followed.

_"As you can see, you fight doesn't seem to be letting up any time soon."_ Lance Thunder said, struggling against the updrafts caused by the warring spirits. _"From what I can see, there's no way for Danny Phantom to beat this ghost without possibly harming the hostages."_ Paulina blinked at that.

"Hostages?" She repeated. A nearby stranger nodded and grunted in confirmation.

"Some ghost came outta nowhere and attacked a family. He took their two kids with him when Phantom showed up and now he won't let them go." Paulina winced before turning her attention back to the screen, wondering how her love was going to her out of this predicament…

Laughing wickedly, the ghost Phantom was chasing dipped low to the ground, making the children scream in terror as the Ghost Boy's scowl darkened. Before either could do anything else though, the ground next to the new ghost exploded, and the camera's focus shifted to land on Mrs. Fenton, who was standing with a smoking ecto-gun aimed at the ghost and some monstrosity of a weapon strapped to her back.

The camera zoomed out here, and Paulina watched breathlessly as the ghost looked between Phantom and Mrs. Fenton before shooting back into the air. Circling around their target, Phantom landed next to Mrs. Fenton and said something to her the camera couldn't catch. The ghost hunter seemed to consider something for a moment before the two took off after their common enemy.

Phantom shot ahead to herd the ghost around to until Mrs. Fenton had a clear shot, which she took full advantage of. Surprised, The ghost dropped his hostages, who were almost immediately caught by Phantom. After making sure that his hold on the children was secure, Phantom turned attention back to the ghost, shooting him an icy glare.

_Literally_ Paulina added in her head as she watched the now frozen ghost fall to the earth, the ice shattering upon hitting the cement.

The ghost, which had obviously been dazed by the Ghost Boy's attack, never noticed when Mrs. Fenton took the enormous weapon that'd been strapped to her back and took aim above the ghost, opening some kind of swirling green vortex that sucked the ghost up before disappearing.

Paulina giggled and clapped vigorously as the crowd around her cheered, beaming as Phantom landed to set the shaken children on their feet. Then, after directing a two-fingered salute in Mrs. Fenton's direction, the ghost took to the air, turning invisible as he left.

"Man…" Dash chuckled. "That was awesome! Phantom's so cool, ain't he?"

"Definitely!" Paulina agreed brightly, daydreaming about the ghost boy yet again.

_And I was right about the ghost hunter thing, too._ Paulina thought smugly. _Why else would he act so familiarly with Mrs. Fenton?_

"Anyways, we'd better go. It's almost time for our reservations." Dash said, leading Paulina away from the crowd. The girl gave the TV a longing gaze, but followed without protest.

_It doesn't matter, I guess._ She mused to herself. _If I play my cards right, then the Ghost Boy will be all mine soon enough…_

* * *

**WoM- _Huzzah! Another chapter complete:D And those of you on DA should keep your eyes peeled, since nightviper16 has offered to put out a comic of this story… This was just a set up chapter mostly, so the fun stuff comes next. And don't worry, now that I have my flash drive back, I'm super-gluing the blasted thing to my hand so I don't lose it again!_**

* * *

**Thanks To;**

Sunshine Silverjojo, Sanne-chan, BadCatGirl, PotterPhan21, Epona Harper, dx/dt, Anomaly25, Celestial Maiden Sukira, Arabic Blessing, ellie, Butterfly.Kissses, ghostanimal, animegurl088, angel4u185, Invader Johnny, Soulcat56, Twinkle Phantom, Artsy Resuri, Writer's-BlockDP, katiesparks, Hiei's Cute Girl, rmedinap24192, acosta perez jose ramiro, BarnOwl93, Phantom of a Rose, BugzAttack, BJA Fan, b4k4 ch4n, Tippi, Linariel, Kinomoto-san, Boxghost228, MrRigger, Skye-chan, The Poisoned Doughnut Of DOOM, avearia, Jimmy the Gothic Egg, Firefury, Zuzanny, phantomshadowdragon, December'sRose, Celestial Moonshine, WolfDaughter, iloveJesusJohnnyandDanny, Twilight Destroyer, ghostgirl14027, Chenwell, conan98002, hammy ham ham, epobbp, Clark Cradic, Grumbles, xheartkreuzx, Egyptian Ghost Kitty, Lumias, SilverstarsEbonyskies, egyptianqueen777, Morrigan's Wings, Stare up at the starry sky, starshinesoldier

* * *

Next Update- Father of My Son Ch 4 (Which will be out momentarily.) 


	3. Lesson 3

**WoM- **_Yes, that's right, I am updating. A Danny Phantom fanfiction, nontheless. In case you missed the memo on DA, I've decided to un-discontinue Apprenticeship after talking to nightviper16, a friend on DA who's making an absolutely awesome comic of this story. (There's a link in my profile if you're interested. Check it out, you won't be disappointed!) Now, before anyone asks, Apprenticeship is the ONLY DP fanfiction I will start updating again at the moment, and I won't restart any of the stories that have been given away. However, if I find time/motivation, I might (Big emphasis on might here) restart some of my other DP fics as well. Until then, though, enjoy chapter 3 of Apprenticeship!_

**

* * *

**

**Lesson 3**

_I can't believe I'm up before six on a Saturday. _Paulina thought grumpily as she stifled a yawn behind her hand. Clearly, staying up the night before to talk on the phone with Star until midnight had not been one of her best ideas, given that Mrs. Fenton told her to come to Fentonworks at five thirty to start their first lesson (Meaning she actually had to wake up around four, to make sure she had time to take care of her hair, makeup, outfit, and various other morning activities). If what Mrs. Fenton said was true, she was going to be with the ghost hunters all day, which was rather unfortunate since she had to cancel a shopping trip with her fellow cheerleaders to the mall for these stupid lessons. Paulina scowled at the sidewalk before another yawn tore past her lips. Hopefully, she wouldn't nod off when Mrs. Fenton was trying to teach her all this ghost hunting nonsense. She wanted to keep on the woman's good side, after all. At least until she learned enough to get Phantom to notice her instead of the Red Hunter…

Sighing irritably, the aqua-eyed girl banished these thoughts as Fentonworks came into view, steeling herself for… whatever it was she was supposed to do today. How were these lessons supposed to go, anyways? Paulina puzzled as she knocked on the front door. After shifting around awkwardly from one foot to the other for a minute or so, Paulina knocked again, louder this time. Irritated, the Latina gave an impatient huff at the wait, which quickly dissolved into another yawn. God she hated mornings…

Paulina was mid-yawn when the Fenton's door finally opened up, greeting the girl with a sight that banished all thoughts of sleepiness to the other ends of the earth, taking her ability to breathe with it.

_Oh. My. _God.

Standing in front of Paulina was Danny Fenton, unsurprising enough considering that she was at his house. Apparently, he wasn't any better with mornings then she was, since his hair was even messier then usual and his eyes had a sort of glazed 'I-Just-Got-Out-Of-Bed' look in them, but this too was of no consequence to the pretty cheerleader. The thing that made Paulina feel like she had just been kicked by her Uncle Ricardo's mule was the fact that the blue-eyed boy had answered the door wearing a pair of old denim jeans.

As in JUST a pair of old denim jeans. No socks, no shoes and no shirt to cover the deliciously muscular chest Paulina would have never suspected in a million years that a loser like Danny Fenton could ever possess.

"Ms Dublin, I already told you I'd talk to my parents about keeping the noise down and despite what you might think, I can't promise you much more then that." Danny said groggily, not looking up at Paulina from the newspaper he had in his hands, which seemed to detail some sort of ghost attack if what little of it Paulina could see was right. "But if you really want my advice, I suggest you invest your money in a nice pair of earplugs." Coming out of her shock, Paulina quickly realized that she had forgotten to close her mouth after her last yawn, and promptly did so.

"Danny?" the girl ventured, half suspecting that this was just some sort of alien creature wearing the youngest Fenton's face. Danny seemed to be taken aback to hear a voice other then the Ms Dublin he thought he was talking to, finally looking up to see his visitor's face. The boy's eyes immediately widened when he recognized his classmate, his newspaper dropping out of his hands to scatter all over the floor, which neither surprised teens took any heed of.

"Paulina?!" Danny sputtered out, clearly much more awake now. "What are-?!

"Danny? Did you get the door, sweetie? If it's that Dublin woman again, tell her that we have very important experiments going on right now, and we'll make as much noise as necessary to- Oh!" coming around the corner, Maddie brightened at the sight of the Hispanic girl standing at her door. "Paulina! Right on time, I was just getting everything set up for you!"

"You know Paulina?" Danny asked his mom, looking even more confused.

"Of course, sweetie!" Maddie chirped happily, "She's my new ghost hunting student!"

"…WHAT?!" Danny sputtered, looking at his mother like she had just confessed her undying love for Bigfoot. "A ghost hunter? Paulina?!" For some reason, the social butterfly couldn't help but feel a little insulted at Danny's surprise, valid as it was. Couldn't he at least pretend this wasn't something that she'd normally never do, if only to make her feel a little less awkward?

"I'm ready to start whenever you are, Mrs. Fenton!" Paulina said sweetly as she brushed past her classmate, who seemed to be trying to figure out whether or not what he was seeing was some kind of weird dream.

"That's the spirit, Paulina!" Maddie beamed in approval. "Danny, make sure that your father doesn't start fiddling around with the Fenton Ghost Glider, will you dear? The wiring is still a little touchy, and I don't want him to hurt himself again. Our insurance already sent us a letter about how they won't cover accidental electrocutions any more…"

"Uh… Yeah… Sure…" Danny replied slowly, apparently still trying to wrap his mind around the idea of Paulina hunting ghosts rather then stalking them. Appraising her son, Maddie gave a heavy sigh of frustration, shaking her head in a long-suffering kind of way.

"Sweetie, how many times do I have to tell you to put a shirt on before you answer the front door?" Maddie asked in amused annoyance.

"What?" Danny said, looking down at his chest and belatedly remembering his state of undress. Turning the exact same shade of red as Paulina's favorite nail polish color (Chick Flick Cherry) Danny immediately turned on his heels and ran up the stairs, tripping over the German Shepard puppy on his way and stumbling rather ungracefully over a laundry basket sitting innocently on the second floor landing before making it to his room, if the loud slamming noise that Paulina and Maddie heard following this spectacular show of clumsiness was anything to go by. As soon as the sound faded away, Maddie broke down laughing, flashing her guest an apologetic smile.

"Sorry about that. Danny has a vendetta against getting dressed properly on the days he doesn't have school. I can only hope this little incident will cure him of that…"

_Speak for yourself._ Paulina thought, remembering the yummy show she had been treated to. Hey, just because she was totally devoted to Phantom didn't mean she couldn't enjoy a little eye candy now and then, weird as it was to think of Danny Fenton as eye candy in any context.

"Now then, I guess we should get started, right dear?" Maddie asked, smiling eagerly at the cheerleader. I've got some things set up downstairs, and I really think you're gonna like what I have planned!"

"Of course, Mrs. Fenton!" Paulina said, following the woman down the stairs to emerge in the Fenton's lab.

The girl couldn't help but falter at the sight of a ghost hunter's work space up close, feeling a little overwhelmed at all the technology, very little of which she actually recognized. Wherever there was supposed to be countertop was completely covered with beakers, test tubes, Bunsen Burners and research papers, and several spots on the walls and ceiling were covered with suspicious scorch marks, like someone had taken a blowtorch to it. What really caught Paulina's attention though, was the swirling vortex tucked against the back wall of the lab, which glowed with a light that was clearly paranormal.

"Whoa…" Paulina breathed, eyes wide as she studied the portal.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Maddie said, clearly pleased with Paulina's awe. "That's the only working man-made portal into the Ghost Zone, sweetie. Took me and Jack over twenty years to make it…"

"This goes into the Ghost Zone?" Paulina asked, trying to peer past the green swirl to see the world on the other side. "What's it like over there?"

"No clue." Maddie answered. "We use it to send ghosts back, dear. Trying to go inside would be far too dangerous, especially since we have no idea what the atmosphere in a paranormal world would do to mortals. Ghosts don't needs to breathe like humans do, after all. If there's no oxygen in the Ghost Zone, that could lead to a very messy and painful death. Besides, the inhabitants over there aren't exactly the best hosts, I imagine."

"I suppose…" Paulina agreed reluctantly, drawing away from the portal with one last longing look. If the portal really lead to the world where ghosts lived, then that meant Danny Phantom probably lived somewhere in that realm as well, right?

"The Fenton Portal is a little advanced for a beginner, anyways." Maddie continued, motioning for Paulina to sit in one of the chairs she had set up. "But don't worry! I have plenty of fun things for you to start off with! I figured we would begin with the basics! Now, as I'm sure you already know, a ghost can be formed one of three ways; from a restless spirit that refuses to pass on after it's death, a memory or idea that develops it's own consciousness due to the intense emotions attached to it or natural objects coming into contact with supernatural substances. In 1922, one of the early greats of modern ghost hunting by the name of Howard Rowe studied a house that was haunted with no lest then sixty three ghosts, and documented all three known occurring ghost formations among them…" Paulina flinched as the older brunette continued to ramble on happily, oblivious to her student's growing feeling of dread.

_The things I do for love._ The girl moaned mentally, sinking further into her seat. Something told her she was going to be here for a _long_ time…

* * *

Six painfully torturous hours later, Maddie finally stopped rambling about ghost hunting and cheerfully suggested that the two of them take a break for lunch. Paulina couldn't get upstairs and into the kitchen fast enough as far as she was concerned. After sitting through the entire history of ghost hunting, a lecture on the chemical makeup of a ghost and a longwinded speech about what ectoplasm was and how ghost powers worked, the cheerleader was bored to the point of tears.

_Danny Phantom better appreciate all of this… _Paulina thought sourly to herself as Maddie bustled around the kitchen making their lunch. She had never had to go so far out of her depth to impress a boy before, after all. Usually, the guys just took one look at her and started falling all over themselves to be her boyfriend. But maybe that was why she liked Phantom so much, he was different then all the stupid, boring guys she dated in the past.

"Here you go, Paulina!" Maddie chirped happily, setting a plate of grilled cheese sandwiches cut in the shape of ghosts in front of the girl. "Dig in! You're going to need the strength for the experiments!"

"Experiments?" Paulina repeated as she delicately picked up one of the sandwiches and took a hesitant bite.

"That's right! I want to you see for yourself how certain chemicals react with ectoplasm, so you can learn what will weaken a ghost, and what will just make them stronger."

_More boring science stuff. Oh joy._ Paulina thought, making a face. Maddie was busy humming happily to herself as she cooked up more grilled cheese, oblivious to Paulina's agitation. After swallowing the bite she had just taken, the cheerleader spoke up again.

"Um, Mrs. Fenton? Not that all this science and history stuff you're teaching me isn't completely fascinating, but I was just wondering when I was going to learn real ghost hunting stuff. Like how to use an ectogun, things like that."

"Eager to get out in the field, huh?" Mrs. Fenton translated, chucking warmly. "I understand that you want to help being those filthy rogues to justice, but first we have to make sure you understand ghosts before you start hunting them. 'Know thy enemy,' after all." Smiling at the girl, Maddie wryly added. "Besides, what kind of irresponsible git would just hand an untrained teenager an ectogun and say 'Have at it?'"

Miles away in Wisconsin, Vlad Masters was suddenly struck with the strange feeling that someone was talking about him behind his back. After considering it for a moment, the billionaire shrugged the feeling off and went back to working on the next array of ghost hunting equipment he was going to send to Valerie.

"Anyways, getting back to the experiments we're going to be working on, we should probably talk about that outfit you're wearing."

"What about my outfit?" Paulina asked, defensive. She thought that her new black and silver tunic top and faded black denim Capri pants looked quite good on her, after all…

"Well, it's just that the experiments can get a little messy sometimes. Do you think you'd be more comfortable wearing one of our spare hazmats or something?"

"Wait, you mean one of the orange hazmats?" Paulina asked, cringing. "No way. I don't think so." Orange was one of her absolute worst colors. She wore it when the pirate ghosts kidnapped her parents because that was an emergency, but that was most definitely a one time thing.

"Are you sure, sweetie? The experiments can get pretty messy, and I'd hate for you to ruin your outfit… What don't you check and see if Jazz left anything that might fit on you? She took most of her clothes with her when she left for college, but she did leave some things behind in case she has to suddenly come home, although why she would feel that kind of precaution is necessary is beyond me…"

"Well… I suppose I could take a look…" Paulina said hesitantly as she polished off her sandwich. From what she could remember, the elder Fenton sibling's clothes were rather… _simple_ for her tastes, but it was probably better then getting her own outfit dirty, and definitely preferable to the hideous hazmats.

"Great!" Maddie beamed, setting another plate of grilled ghosts in front of the girl. "You can go take care of that now. Jazz's old room is right up the stairs and the second door on the right. I'm gonna check on Jack's progress on the Boo-Blaster real quick, then I'll go right back to the lab. Take these up to Danny on you way up there, will you dear? He tends to forget to eat when he's busy with whatever it is he does in his room all day." Before Paulina could form a coherent protest, Maddie was gone, leaving the teen dumbfounded in her wake.

_…You have got to be kidding me._ Paulina thought, disgruntled at being reduced to Danny Fenton's delivery girl. Sighing, the dark-haired girl stood and snatched up the plate and stalked up the stairs, reminding her bruising ego that all of this was for Danny Phantom. Reaching the top of the stairs, Paulina quickly deduced which door belong to her classmate from the soothing sounds of Dumpty Humpty at a decibel that could have warred with a small airplane's engine that were blaring through the door. Without bothering to knock, Paulina immediately used her free hand to open the blue-eyed boy's bedroom door, where she was immediately greeted with the side of her classmate pacing his carpet, apparently too distracted with his phone call to notice his unannounced guest.

"-Right, right! Near the Food Court? Try and distract him as long as possible, I'll be there in ten minutes, Tuck!" snapping his phone shut, Danny whirled around with a serious look on his face, which froze into a rather comical expression at the sight of the pretty aqua-eyed girl. "Paulina?!" He squeaked out, straightening up nervously. "What are you doing here?"

"Learning from your mom, remember?" Paulina reminded the boy coolly, studying him curiously. The black haired teen was fully dressed now (Something Paulina couldn't help but feel a tiny bit disappointed about) in his usual baggy clothes, which did wonders at hiding all the delicious muscles he'd formed with the Queen Bee of Casper High none the wiser. "Your mom asked me to bring these up for you." Paulina explained, motioning towards the plate she way holding.

"Oh!" Danny said, taking the plate from her. "Uh, thanks. And um, sorry… about this morning, I mean." Paulina watched in bemusement as Danny shuffled awkwardly from one foot to the other as he said this. Seeing the boy's face turn the same shade of red that it had at the front door was almost worth the humiliation of having to deliver his food…

"Forget it." Paulina said dismissively, glancing curiously down at his phone. "What was that phone call just now about? Some kind of sale down at the mall or something?"

"Huh?" Danny said, before he followed Paulina's line of sight and saw the cell phone still in his hand. Finally remembering the conversation he'd just had with his best friend, Danny Fenton's eyes widened dramatically and a look of horror passed his face before it was quickly covered by a rather forced smile. "Uh, yeah! A sale! That's it!" Striding forward, Danny quickly snatched a Fenton Thermos (one of the many things Maddie had gone into detail with about during her speech to Paulina downstairs) from his bedside table, before somehow pushing Paulina out into the hall without her ever registering that it happened. "Sorry Paulina, I'd love to stay and chat, but Sam and Tucker are waiting for me! Later!" Paulina blinked in shock for a moment as the door was slammed in her face, reeling as her mind tried to catch up with what had just happened.

Had she just been dissed by _Danny Fenton_?!

Shock quickly faded into rage and Paulina immediately started forward, throwing the door open again to tell Danny off for his rudeness-

-Only to find herself staring dumbly around an empty room.

_...Okay, now this is just weird._ Paulina thought, confusion clear on her face. Unless he had climbed out the window, there was no way she could have missed Danny leaving, since she had been standing right in front of his door. Hesitantly, she started forward and peeked out the window, half expecting to see her classmate lying in the bushes below his window. The Fenton's hedges were Danny-free though, and there was no sign of the teen anywhere on the streets. Baffled, Paulina pulled her head back in before shrugging the incident off as yet another weird 'Fenton Moment' the boy was so famous for and leaving the boy's room without a second glance.

Which meant she never saw the distinctive silhouette of Danny Phantom in the distance out Danny's window, flying off in the direction of Amity's mall.

* * *

Eight hours later, a tired, sore and disgruntled Paulina came storming through her front door, a scowl on her face that promised murder to anyone who so much as blinked at her the wrong way. Unfortunately for her, Diego was currently the only one home, and he didn't seem all that frightened by his younger cousin if the hysterical laugher he had burst into at the sight of her was anything to go by.

"Paulina…" He finally managed through his laugher. "Are you covered in _slime_?!"

"Shut. Up." Paulina hissed back, her face beet red in a combination of anger and embarrassment.

After scouring Jazz Fenton's closet for close to an hour trying to find something she wouldn't mind being caught dead in, Paulina had gone back down into the lab to Maddie Fenton to start the experiments the older woman had been so giddy about. Unfortunately, she wasn't paying as close attention to the sensitive chemicals that she was working with as she should have been, with resulted in an explosion of pungent sticky green goo that wound up coating the lab, Maddie, and most importantly, Paulina herself.

Thankfully, Maddie had mistaken Paulina's mortification at being covered in ectoplasmic goo as the girl being upset over messing up the experiment, and sent the girl home for the day with a bottle of Fenton Anti-Ecto Shampoo and a cheerful "Don't worry, sweetie, simple mistakes happen all the time, you'll get better!"

Needless to say, Paulina was not exactly thrilled at having to walk home covered in what looked like some sort of radioactive waste. She could only hope that none of the people who'd seen her on the streets had actually recognized her.

Rolling her eyes as Diego continued laughing, Paulina huffed and started upstairs for a nice, long shower and sleep. She had only gotten to the second landing when her cousin called up to her, making her freeze.

"Oh, by the way! Your friends from school called while you were out! I guess they got caught up in a ghost attack at the mall or something. But don't worry, Danny Phantom flew in and rescued them. Guess one of your friends even got close enough to plant one on him, since it's all over the six o'clock news…"

Downstairs, Diego grinned and the loud shriek and bilingual cursing that his cousin was currently spewing out, chuckling to himself rather wickedly.

_Cuz, you have no idea how transparent you really are…_

* * *

**WoM-** _And that would be chapter 3! ^^ Hope you people enjoyed it! I'll get chapter 4 up before I head back to school, then we'll just have to wait and see what happens after that..._

Thanks (AND APOLOGIES!) to;

_epobbp, Nylah, Sqweakie the Wonder Mouse, Firefury Amahira, , WolfDaughter, Anne Camp aka Obi-quiet, Titan6, Invader Johnny, Xela Tokrub, E.A. Knightly, dahoughtonuk, Sunshine Silverjojo, hikarisyami24, isadorathegreat, egyptianqueen777, FantomoDrako, Sparky the Wonder Weasel, Sanne-chan, Epona Harper, LiLIndianPrinzess, Warrior of winds, Hiei's Cute Girl, Starshinesoldier, Soulcat56, Lumias, Clark Cradic, The Midnight Phantomess, bluename, Arcellant, Michael J.J, December'sRose, SilverMoonPhantom, Xdon't-mind-meX, Annabelle Carter, DPshadow, JosephineInLove, acosta perez jose ramiro, rika195, Manyara, broken0dream, ironbloodaika, DPRRluvJ13MM, Shou-Hato, Melodic Dreams, DPcrazy, Adran06, chalicity, Thunderstorm101, werewolf5, Pawz4thought, Death Note Owner13, Liani Risate, Mackzazzle, name, Johnny boy, Mi Bi Looney_


	4. Lesson 4

**WoM-**_ Just for the record, I'd not happy with this chapter. I mean really, really not happy with this chapter. I've gone over it with a fine tooth comb, though, and I can't seem to fine any more ways to improve it. That's part of the reason this took so long to get up. School's another part of that, as well as some family stuff. I'll try to be quicker with the next update, but as usual, I can't make any real promises._

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**Lesson 4**

"I'm telling you Star, she's _evil_! EVIL! I think she was doing it all on purpose, just to get rid of me! She doesn't want to teach me because she thinks I'm just wasting her time! Can you believe that?!"

"Uh-huh. Evil." Star responded dully as she absently tapped her Sayonara Pussycat pen on the outdoor table, frowning at the magazine in front of her. The girl had been hoping to use their lunch period to find the perfect prom dress, but so far she wasn't having very much luck. "Hey, do you think I could pull off a gold gown, or would that clash too much with my natural coloring?" Eyebrow twitching, Paulina toyed with the idea of strangling her best friend for a moment before deciding against it. She'd look horrible in those orange jumpsuits they made the prisoners wear…

"Star." The Hispanic girl said through clenched teeth. "Did you hear a word of what I just said?"

"Of course." Star answered mildly, glancing up from her magazine. "You were just telling me about how for the past week Mrs. Fenton made you sit through the entire history of ghost hunting, gave you a science lesson on the chemical makeup of a ghost, told you what ectoplasm was made of, explained how ghost hunting weapons work and showed you all the different parts of the Fenton Thermos, a disassembled ecto-gun and an ecto-staff and how you're supposed to put them together without blowing yourself sky high." Paulina stared at her friend for a moment after the girl's detailed (And accurate) recap of her rant, impressed that the girl was able to retain all of that and look for her prom dress at the same time. No wonder Star had one of the highest GPAs in their class, under Foley and that creepy girl who sat in the back of the room and never talked to anyone…

"I've been going there every day, and she hasn't taught me a thing about hunting ghosts!" Paulina sighed in aggravation, glaring death at the paper in her hands. "I don't think she's taking me seriously." Star could believe it. Knowing Paulina as well as she did, it was hard to take any of the girl's flights of passions too seriously, with the possible exception of the girl's single-minded focus on the town's spectral superhero. To be honest, Star herself was expecting Paulina to quit in another week or so, given that she'd been working this long with no results to show for it.

Not that she could tell that to Paulina, though.

"Well, she's got to realize you're in it for the long haul soon." Star placated her friend smoothly, earning a disgruntled grunt from her fellow cheerleader. "Forget about Mrs. Fenton for now, Paulina. Have you found a dress for Prom yet?"

If possible, Paulina looked even more irritated at the supposedly 'safe' subject Star had brought up to distract her.

"Are you kidding?" She sulked. "I've been through fifty fashion magazines and nine different stores, and nothing looks right! The way things are going, I'm better off just going to prom naked!"

"I wouldn't mind seeing that." A voice behind the friends' joked, prompting the girls to turn to find Dash and Kwan approaching them. Naturally, the comment had come from the blonde of the pair. If Kwan had dared to comment on the appeal of a girl with Paulina's figure in as little clothing as humanly possible while in the presence of his girlfriend, Star would have most likely shoved her pen through his eyeball before promptly dumping him.

"Says the boy with the fashion sense of a rock." Paulina shot back dryly, rolling her eyes. "It will rain kittens before I ask your opinion on one of my outfits, Dash."

"Whatever. All that frilly, girly crap has always been your thing anyways." Dash shrugged as he sat across from the aqua-eyed girl. "Gimme a football or video game any day of the week."

"You girls going shopping for prom soon or something?" Kwan asked Star as he joined his friend.

"Kinda…" Star said hesitantly, shooting a quick glance at the girl beside her before turning back to her boyfriend. "We're both still browsing, but Paulina's being a little pickier then me."

"Well, if you do find something you like, lemme know and I'll buy it for you." Kwan volunteered chivalrously, smiling warmly at the blonde girl. "After all, that's the least I could do for such a pretty girlfriend."

"Aww, thanks Kwan! That's so sweet!" Star gushed, giggling at the jock's words. Paulina barely restrained herself from rolling her eyes next to her friends at the lovey-dovey couple's antics. It wasn't that she wasn't happy for her friend or anything like that, Star was great and Paulina was honestly thrilled that the girl had found a boyfriend who could make her smile the way Kwan did. It was just a little harder to be encouraging about her best friend's luck in love when her own romantic interest was still so far from her.

_It doesn't matter, though._ Paulina told herself firmly as she flipped to the next page of her notebook. _Danny Phantom will be mine soon enough, and when he is I'll finally have that kind of love too._

Just then, the notebook in Paulina's hands was snatched away without warning, making the girl look up in alarm. She scowled darkly when she saw her notes in Dash's hands, his eyebrows furrowed together in confusion as he scanned the page. "Dash!"

"_Ectoplasmic energy has to be filtered through three different proton chambers before reaching the tri… tricombustial rod and charging for a brief but powerful blast of energy._" The quarterback slowly read out loud off of the sheet, his confusion increasing as he stumbled a bit over some of the bigger words. "_The energy isn't as powerful as it can be coming from a natural source like a ghost or ghost-based objects, but generally speaking it's powerful enough to attack spirits weaker then a 4.2 on the Spectral Scale…_ What the heck kind of mumbo jumbo is all this?!"

"Privacy much?!" Paulina snapped, snatching the notebook back from the popular jock.

"Just wanted to know what you were reading. It's not like you to be so wrapped up in notes, Paulina. What is all that for? Is Poluka making us study ghosts in science today or something?"

"Dash, we both had Poluka's science class second period." The cheerleader reminded the boy, rolling her eyes in exasperation.

"Is that what that class is?" Dash asked, mildly surprised. "I always thought it was Math…"

Burying her head in her hands, Paulina didn't bother responding to the boy's statement.

"Anyways, whatcha studying those notes for, anyways? More Phantom stuff or something?"

"No Dash, this has nothing to do with the Ghost Boy." Paulina sighed. Danny Phantom was usually a happy medium for the two of them, something they both enjoyed talking about at length. In fact, there were times Paulina almost suspected that Dash was an even bigger raging fan of the superhero then herself. Especially when he began rehashing the story about how he got himself shrunk at the Fenton household and Danny Phantom saved him from some freaky robot ghost. All the A-list kids had heard of the event at least ten times each before they banned together and threaten to tie the jock to the goal post and leave him there overnight if he didn't shut up about it, with Paulina at the lead (She loved Danny Phantom, but even she had her limits). "It's a breakdown of how an ectogun works. I'm studying for my ghost hunting lessons."

A long, awkward silence greeted Paulina's confession.

"Ghost… Hunting… Lessons…?" Dash repeated slowly.

"Yes, that's right." Paulina nodded. "I'm learning from Maddie Fenton." As one, both jocks burst into hysterical laugher, unaware of the deadly aura of rage now swirling around the popular cheerleader.

"Oh god, Paulina! For a second there I thought you were serious!" Dash guffawed loudly. "I mean seriously? You? A ghost hunter?! That's a good one!"

"And exactly what is so unbelievable about me wanting to hunt ghosts?" Paulina asked, her tone sweet and dangerous all at once. The boys' laugher died almost instantly as they flashed nervously looks at one another before turning to Star for help, to find her suddenly scrutinizing her magazine with such intensity that it almost seemed like she was trying transport herself onto the page. She was NOT getting involved in this if Paulina was using that tone. She liked living far too much to take that kind of risk.

"Come on, Paulina." Dash chuckled nervously. "It's just… You're the girl who screams whenever you see a bug, then finds a guy to squish it for you. You really expect us to believe that you wanna be a gun-toting superbabe like the Red Hunter or something?" Sinking down in her seat Star prayed feverously that Dash had NOT just used the words she could have sworn she had just heard come out of his mouth. Sadly enough, the fact that she could now feel the heat of Paulina's anger told the girl all too clearly that her hope was futile.

"EXCUSE me?!" Paulina hissed, jumping to her feet and jabbing her finger threateningly in Dash's face. "You think I can't be just as strong as that pathetic excuse for a ghost hunter?! HA! The only reason everyone thinks she's so cool is because she's such a lame showoff! I'm going to be three times the ghost hunter she is, no matter what you or anybody else thinks!"

"Alright! Alright! I get it!" Dash said, eyeing the perfectly manicured fingernail hovering dangerously close to his face with evident wariness. Satisfied, Paulina sat back down, gathering her notes up to try and find where she was before Dash had stolen them from her. "Anyways, I was just wondering if you wanted to go out tonight. Patrick's parents are out of town, and he's having a party over at his place. From the sounds of it, it's gonna be pretty big!"

"Hmm? No thanks Dash, I'm gonna be busy." Paulina sighed softly, drumming her fingernails against the table and chewing her lip as she reread a line. What on earth had Mrs. Fenton meant by positive and negative ectoplasm…?

"Busy? Since when have you ever been too busy for a party?" Dash asked, obviously disappointed.

"Since now." Paulina responded, giving him a pointed glare. Wincing Dash deflated at the look with a defeated expression.

"Fine, fine. I'll go with Ashley, then. Cool?"

"Fine by me." Paulina said carelessly, waving the boy away. Taking the gesture as a sign of dismissal, Dash quickly got up to leave the girls in peace, prompting Kwan to do the same after exchanging a quick goodbye kiss with Star.

"I didn't know you were busy tonight, Paulina." Star said after the two had left. "A family thing or something?"

"No. I'm going over to Mrs. Fenton's again. She's supposed to show me some kind of Ghost Shield thing today."

"You're going there _again_?" Star asked, surprised. After a week of torture with no progress towards a more intimate relationship with Phantom, Star had kind of expected her friend to taper off as far as her lessons went soon, before she ultimately quit altogether.

"I'm not exactly studying the make up of an ecto-gun for my health here, Star." Paulina shot back irritably. Was her sticking with something really such a big deal? Her father had been dropping all these hints about wanting her to give up on ghost hunting over breakfast that morning, too… "No matter what anybody else says, I'm NOT giving up on my perfect guy!"

"I didn't think you would, Paulina." Star assured her friend quickly_. I just figured you'd find an easier way to do it after a while._ "Anyways, don't let what Dash said about the Red Hunter bother you too much. He's a guy, after all. They see a girl in a skintight battle suit and all the blood leaves their brains." Paulina frowned at Star's words, a troubled look on her face.

"Do you think Phantom's that way, too?" She asked, looking surprisingly insecure all of a sudden. Star faltered at her friend's question, feeling trapped. After all, if she said yes, that would imply that the Ghost Boy was shallow and wouldn't care about Paulina as a person if the two ever did get together, which would bother the cheerleader immensely (Although she tried not to show it, Paulina did have some uncertainties in regards to her looks, especially when it came to boys). On the other hand though, if she said no, that would mean that Danny Phantom's feelings for the ghost huntress were deeper then that, and that Paulina might have a harder time getting his attention.

"I think… I think the Ghost Boy's just lonely is all." Star said slowly, wracking her brain for a way to word her thoughts that wouldn't end with her best friend not speaking to her. "I mean, we did say that the ghost hunters and ghosts were really the only people Danny Phantom ever talked to, and he doesn't really get along with any of them too well, so maybe he just likes the Red Hunter because he can relate more to her." Star was relieved when she saw Paulina consider her friend's point for a moment before brightening considerably.

"Yeah, you're right!" the Hispanic girl said as she stood. She paused for a moment to consider the magazine in her friend's hands before snatching it away from the surprised blonde to quickly flip through to a specific page, handing it back to her friend when she found the one she was looking for. "Here, this one'll be perfect for you. I gotta get going now. Catch you later, Star!"

"Uh, sure…" Star said as Paulina left. Shaking off her confusion, Star turned to look curiously at the page the other girl had left her with, squealing in delight at the picture of a sexy lime green spaghetti strap prom dress that was loose in the chest, but hugged the waist tightly, with a billowy, flirty skirt that tapered up at the right hip to show off just a little bit of leg. Glancing down, Star's smile fell slightly when she saw the price tag attached to the dress.

_It's a good thing Kwan's such a nice guy…_ She thought wryly as she began to wrack her brain for a way to make the ungodly steep price up to her boyfriend.

* * *

Paulina's good mood over her pep talk with Star lasted for the rest of the school day, and might have gone on a little longer if she hadn't decided to head to the bathroom to do a quick make up check before heading to Fentonworks for her daily lesson, more out of habit then an actual desire to impress anyone. Unfortunately, the girl was distracted with shoving her ghost hunting notes in her bag on her way to open the door to the ladies' room, and was thrown off balance when the door that her hand was supposed to push open wasn't where she expected it to be. The cheerleader had just enough time to lift her head before she crashed into the person exiting the bathroom she'd been attempting to enter, resulting in a rather painful collision of her skull on the other girl's jaw as the two instantly went down with twin grunts of pain.

Embarrassed and irritated, Paulina quickly shook off her pain to scowl at the other person, only to freeze when she recognized the girl.

_Of course…_ The popular teen thought sourly as she bemoaned her luck. The other girl seemed to agree full heartedly, if the soft curses she was growling out under her breathe were anything to go by.

"Watch where you're going, Manson!" Paulina snapped as she got back to her feet and brushed the dirt off of her pants.

"So sorry, Paulina." Sam replied with scathing sarcasm as she pulled herself back up. "Next time I'll be sure to stand where you can't run me over like a charging bull." Paulina responded to the Goth's offer with a glare that had passerby's suspecting that she was trying to develop the ability to make objects (such as Sam Manson's head) spontaneously combust.

"I was distracted." Paulina said defensively. "What's your excuse? Did you forget how to walk without your bat cape?" And just like that, Sam was returning Paulina's death glare with one of her own.

Something about Sam Manson always brought out the worse of Paulina. As long as they had known each other, their relationship had been nothing but antagonistic. Paulina was fairly certain that most of Sam's hostility towards her had to do with Danny Fenton, since the Goth had been in love with the boy since forever and Danny, like so many other boys in Casper High, liked Paulina instead. It wasn't the first time Paulina got static from a girl over a guy, but no one else quite annoyed her with their attitude the way Sam always seemed to.

The weird thing was, Danny and Sam _had_ dated a bit in their Sophomore and Junior years, before Sam herself opted to call it quits on the relationship. The whole school had been buzzing about that one for a while, since no one could figure out what had gone wrong between Casper High's honorary lovebirds, but Sam and Danny were pretty tight lipped about their break up, just saying that things didn't work out like they expected and they were more comfortable as friends.

Wild rumors ran rampant for a while, but when the two failed to provide any encouragement to the stories surrounding the end of their relationship, all the excitement eventually died off. Danny and Sam went back to being best friends, but Sam's animosity towards Paulina hadn't died off in the least, and Paulina herself wasn't in any hurry to extend the hand of friendship to the girl who had crashed one of her parties with spray cans of expired Fenton Foam that smelled like rotting eggs, which took weeks to get out of her furniture. Paulina still wasn't quite sure about the details behind that event, but she knew it had something to do with a ghost named 'Klemper' and one of her old childhood toys somehow coming to life via ghost powers. Thankfully, Danny Phantom had been there to save the day, so the mess wasn't a _complete_ loss.

"Hey, Sam? You done yet? We're supposed to meet Tucker at- Paulina?" As one, both girls turned to find a surprised Danny Fenton standing a little ways off, looking between the two with evident wariness.

"Oh, I'm done alright." Sam said in disgust, brushing past Paulina with one last nasty look. "Come on Danny, let's get out of here before all the tables fill up at the Nasty Burger."

"Uh, right." Danny said uncertainly, looking between his friend and the pretty girl and wincing slightly at the tension between the two. "Paulina, you're heading over to my place for another lesson with my mom, right? Do you want me to give you a ride or something before I go?" The boy's offer surprised the cheerleader for a minute, making her miss the absolutely murderous look Sam threw her friend. It wasn't so much that Danny had volunteered to chuffer her to his home, since her lack of a car was well known among her peers, but that Danny himself had a vehicle. She'd never seen his car when she was at his house, after all.

…Then again, most of her time was spent in his parent's lab, so that might have been the reason why.

"No thanks. I'll walk." Paulina said civilly. She had made a point to try and be a bit nicer to Danny lately, given that he was the only son of the one person in town who could help her catch the Ghost Boy's eye (Whether Maddie liked it or not).

"Well, if you're sure…" Danny said hesitantly as Sam scoffed and raised an eyebrow at the cheerleader.

"Why are you going over to Fentonworks, anyways?" She asked suspiciously.

"Sam…" Danny half pleaded as Paulina threw the dark haired girl an ugly look.

"Not that it's any of your business, but I'm learning ghost hunting from Danny's mom." Paulina said haughtily. A brief silence met Paulina's confession, in which Danny had just enough time to shake his head forlornly and gaze heavenward before-

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!" Sam burst out, doubling over with laugher as the rest of Casper High stared at her as if she had finally gone insane. "Oh, MAN! That's a good one! I needed that after that test in World History!"

"Sam…" Danny sighed heavily in disapproval.

"What? Are you going to tell me that the thought of Miss Casper High here going after ghosts with ecto-guns blazing isn't totally gold?" Sam shot back, grinning from ear to ear. "You might as well tell your mom not to waste her time Danny, Princess here's gonna fall to pieces the first time she breaks a nail in a fight."

_I could make it look like an accident. _Paulina assured herself as she started towards the Goth, fully intent on breaking more then just Sam's nails. _Star would be happy to give me an alibi, I'm sure. _Before Paulina could attack, though, her vision of Sam was suddenly blocked by a boy's back. Faltering, Paulina pulled back slightly, blinking in surprise when she realized that Danny had somehow positioned himself between her and his friend, his attention on the Goth. Confused, Paulina turned to glance uncertainly at the spot a few feet down the hall, where the blue-eyed boy was supposed to be standing. Had Fenton always been able to move that fast…?

"Sam, that's enough." Danny said, his voice surprisingly authoritative all of a sudden. "Look, just go on ahead, alright? I'll meet you and Tuck at the Nasty Burger in a bit."

"Fine, fine." Sam said, rolling her eyes. "Humor the girl, what do I care? Just don't come crying to me when she makes a big mess that Danny Phantom has to clean up." And, with that warning, Sam gave Danny a casual wave, took one last glance at the fuming cheerleader and left, chuckling to herself as she went. Once she was gone, Danny sighed and shook his head.

"Sorry about that. Sam's a bit of a cynic, so-"

"Oh _please_, Danny." Paulina snapped back, still fuming over Sam's words. "Look, whatever you're gonna say, I don't wanna hear it, so why don't you just run back to the rest of your group? I am _so_ done with everyone treating me being a ghost hunter like its some big joke or something! Is it too much to ask that ONE person actually believe in me?!" Danny looked a little startled by Paulina's frustrated outburst for a moment, before a confused look settled on his face.

"What do you mean? Of course someone believes in you." Danny said blunting, looking at the popular girl like she had missed something as painfully obvious as Mr. Lancer's tragic case of hair loss.

"Oh really?" Paulina scoffed at the boy's words. "And I suppose that this 'someone' you're talking about is you?" _This_ was why guys other then Danny Phantom irritated Paulina so much, they'd say and do anything to try and get closer to you, then leave you in the dust as soon as they got bored. Paulina had gotten enough of that crap when she was younger, and she was not about to let herself fall for it again any time soon.

"Wha- Oh! No, not me." Danny said, prompting Paulina to raise an eyebrow at the messy-haired teen. Apparently, Danny's words took a second to catch up with him, since he quickly flinched before hastily amending, "Ah, not that I _don't _believe in you, 'cause I do! I just meant-!"

"Save it." Paulina sighed, rolling her eyes and forcing herself not to smile as Danny continued to mentally smack himself for his chronic foot-in-mouth disorder. Her curiosity getting the better of her, the girl pressed on, "If you weren't talking about yourself, then who did you mean when you said that someone believed in me?"

"My mom." Danny said plainly, obviously still smarting over his earlier mistake. Paulina was so startled by the boy's confession though, that she hardly even noticed his embarrassment.

"What?" She said incredulously. "What are you talking about? Your mom hasn't been taking me seriously at all! She hasn't told me anything important about hunting ghosts, she just keeps giving me notes and formulas and all kinds of weird, boring facts!"

"Is that what you think?" Danny said, looking a bit troubled. "That's not true at all, Mom's really enthusiastic about showing you how to hunt. She just wants to make sure she does it right. I mean, 90% of the time a ghost hunter goes into a fight with a ghost, they're not sure what to expect. That's why it's important to get as much information as possible before you start firing, in case you accidentally do something to take the situation from bad to worse."

"You really expect me to believe all that?" Paulina said skeptically.

"Sure." Danny answered. Seeing Paulina's unconvinced look, the boy sighed. "Alright, let's try this; Say the school's being attacked by a ghost with yellow ectoplasm who's obsessed with… um… baseball! Yeah, that's a good one. So anyways, you either have the option to hit it with an ion blaster or freeze it with a stun ray. What would you do?"

"Are you crazy or something?" Paulina asked, rolling her eyes. "If it has yellow ectoplasm, then that means it's energy has a sporadic positive charge. Using an ion blaster would just make things worse since it will try to reverse the charges which could result in an explosion that would blow the school halfway to the moon. And positively-charged ghosts are immune to the core energy in a stun ray, which means that's totally useless. If anything, the best you could hope to do is take the energy control magnet from the ion blaster and attach it to the stun ray to try and convert the core energy into plasma, and hope that the thing doesn't fall apart until you can take the ghost out." It took a moment after Paulina finished her speech for what she said to really sink in, but when it did, the girl went absolutely still.

_Oh…_

"I rest my case." Danny said with a chuckle. "Ghost hunting's about more then just ecto-guns and hazmats, you know. And for what it's worth, my mom thinks you're brilliant at it. She keeps going on about how you were able to absorb more in a week then she could learn in a month when she started to learn ghost hunting. Thinks you're some kind of prodigy child or something." Glancing at the clock, Danny added. "Anyways, I'd better go. Good luck with your lesson, Paulina. I'll see you when I get home." Waving goodbye, Danny immediately set off down the hall, his thoughts distracting him enough that he didn't even realize how strange the sentence that he had just said sounded. Still reeling from her revelation, Paulina didn't even notice that he had left until he was already long gone.

* * *

"There you are!" Maddie said in relief as she opened the door for Paulina before she could even knock. "You're almost ten minutes late, sweetie! I was starting to get worried!"

"Sorry." Paulina apologized, suddenly feeling self-conscious for reasons that she didn't quite understand. "I kinda got caught up at school."

"Is everything alright?" Maddie asked, her tone full of motherly concern. "You don't sound like yourself, Paulina."

"I'm fine, Mrs. Fenton, really." Paulina assured the woman quickly. Hesitating a moment, the girl added. "I just…"

"Yes?" Maddie asked curiously.

"Mrs. Fenton, I have to ask… what makes you think I'd be any good as a ghost hunter? I mean, why bother with me at all?" Paulina had to know what made Maddie so certain that she had the potential for greatness as a ghost hunter when everyone else who actually _knew _her personally just burst out laughing at the thought of her as a ghost hunter.

"Is that what's bugging you?" Maddie asked in surprise before giving a light laugh. "Paulina, sweetie, I could tell the first day we met that you have everything a good ghost hunter needs. I mean, it was obvious after our first sit down that you're a smart girl with enough guts to go after something you want, and refusing to back down until you get it. And even though you might not necessarily enjoy learning all these boring fact I'm teaching you right now instead of the ecto-quick draw, you've retained everything I've told you, and your determination hasn't wavered in the slightest. Those traits are all very important in a ghost hunter, considering how crazy our jobs can get sometimes."

"Do you really mean all that?" Paulina asked, feeling a little embarrassed that Maddie had realized that she had been less then enthusiastic about the content of the woman's lessons, but still touched that the woman thought she was so great.

"Of course!" Maddie said cheerfully. "I wouldn't have agreed to teach you if I didn't see something special in you, after all. I don't exactly make a habit out of letting strange teenagers paw through our ghost hunting gear, you know." The sheer irony of the woman across from her, donned in her usual blue hazmat and red goggles, calling _Paulina_ 'strange' made the cheerleader giggle slightly before she could stop herself, prompting a grin from Maddie.

"Now come on then! I want to show you what happens when ectoplasm is charged with electricity and used to create a force field that will keep ghosts at bay…"

"Right." Paulina said, following Maddie down to the lab. Strangely enough, Paulina was actually looking forward to her lesson for the first time in a week.

Maybe Mrs. Fenton wasn't so bad after all…

* * *

**WoM-** _And there you have it! Like I said, I'm not really happy here, but it gets the job done. The next chapter will be better, though, I can almost guarentee that. 'evil laugh' Please don't forget to review! Your responses to this story always make me happy!_

Thanks To;

_Pterodactyl, Preemtive Karma, AnneriaWings, bloodmoon13, stick fight3, Rod Serling, Arcellant, Writer's-BlockDP, Meitle, Thunderstorm101, Invader Johnny, Anne Camp aka Obi-quiet, ironbloodaika, Sparteen, FantomoDrako, skeke, Skating Queen, Mi Bi Looney, Burning Frost, Phantom of a Rose, ANGEL_FEATHER_KEEPER, Celestial Maiden Sukira, acosta perez jose ramiro, Inky Marshmallow, Fantasy93, DPRRluvJ13MM, Xdon't-mind-meX, egyptianqueen777, ghostanimal, Short-and-Nappy96, Emori Loul, Vi-Violence, Completely Different, Kirei Tsuki, JWM, A Bibliophile_


	5. Lesson 5

**WoM- **_Guess who's ba~ack? XD I had a lot of fun with this chapter, but it was kinda slow going since I was having problems finding the time to finish it. Still, I'm much happier with this then I was with the last chapter. 'grins' Now what are you waiting for? The story's down there, shoo! Shoo!_

_(...Sorry for the weird layout, by the way. fanfiction's acting wonky today...)_

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* * *

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**Lesson 5**

* * *

Diego flinched as an ear-splitting screech broke through the still of the Saturday morning air, shattering the glass of milk he was holding as his cat yowled in shock and shot out the open window to seek refuge elsewhere.

"I'M GONNA BE LATE!"

Raising one eyebrow, the college student listened in amusement as his cousin cursed while making enough noise to wake the dead, before leaping the stairs in one fell swoop and sliding across the linoleum to stop in front of the kitchen counter. Quickly snatching up an apple, the blue eyed girl bit into the skin of the fruit as she grabbed an empty glass and fished out a carton of orange juice. Fierce determination swirled around the cheerleader as she set herself to the task of preparing a quick breakfast. Rolling his eyes at the display, Diego tossed the remains of his glass into the trash and began mopping up the spilled milk with a handful of napkins.

"Lemme guess; you've got a shopping trip with Star to get to?" The older boy said dryly, shooting his cousin an accusing look.

"Guess again, college boy." Paulina scoffed as she dropped a pop tart into the toaster. "I'm going to Mrs. Fenton's for another Ghost Hunting lesson. I probably won't be back until after dark, so tell Mama and Papa not to wait up for me." Diego paused at that, staring at Paulina with a dumbstruck expression on his face.

"…Wait, you're still doing that whole ghost hunting thing?" Diego said, obviously confused. "Hasn't it been, like, a month already? I thought you would've thrown in the towel by now…" For this friendly observation, Diego promptly received a half-eaten apple to the face.

"Yes, I'm still learning how to hunt ghosts!" Paulina huffed irritably. "When is it gonna sink in with you guys that I'm serious about this!"

"Hey, can't blame us for being skeptical, cuz." Diego grumbled as he wiped his glasses with another napkin. "I mean, when was the last time you were serious about anything? Hell, you can't even take relationships seriously! I mean, the only boy you've ever dated more then just once was that blonde musclehead, and even then you only just barely tolerate the guy."

"Whatever, I don't have time to hear another one of your stupid lectures, Diego." Paulina snapped, as she snatched her now heated pop tart and headed for the door. "Look, just pass the message along, will you?" And, without waiting for her cousin to respond, Paulina left, slamming the door behind her.

"Ooooh!" The pretty Latina growled to herself as she stormed down the street. "That jerk! What does he know, anyways?" She could so take relationships seriously! It was just that none of the guys she'd dated in the past were worth getting serious about! But after she finally managed to get Danny Phantom-!

Paulina's thought derailed as her pain sensors went into overdrive, reminding her that the pop tart in her hand was still very, very hot. Shrieking, the aqua eyed girl immediately transferred the pastry into her other hand, shaking the injured one in a lame attempt to make the burning sensation go away.

Great. This morning just kept getting better and better…

Sighing mournfully, Paulina took a bite out of her 'breakfast' as she continued towards Fentonworks. Really, was a break too much to ask for? She was trying here, she really was! Surely that was worth some kind of reward, right?

Still feeling a little sullen when she finally reached Fentonworks, Paulina knocked politely on the door and waited for a response, ignoring the sour-faced neighbor of the Fentons she could see lurking around the hedges (whom she knew to be the infamous Mrs. Dublin that Maddie had such distain for), who was glaring at Paulina in a particularly accusing sort of manner. Already irritated, Paulina was just about to snap at the woman when the Fenton's front door was flung open and the teenager was swept bodily off her feet and into a bone-crushing one armed bear hug.

"Paulie!" Jack Fenton bellowed happily at the sight of the girl, slamming the door behind him. "I've been waitin' for you to get here all morning! Just wait 'til you see this…!"

"Hello, Mr. Fenton." Paulina gasped, struggling to breathe as Jack pulled her into the living room, which had been torn apart to make room for a gravity defying disk surrounded by a ghost shield which didn't look dissimilar to a flying saucer.

"Ta~da!" Jack said proudly, finally setting the girl down on her feet. "Well? What do you think?"

"You finished the Ghost Glider?" Paulina said in awe, leaning in to inspect the invention more closely. Maddie had told her about the flying device that she and Jack were working on in order to follow ghosts more easily, but she had no idea it was so close to being done.

"Almost! Just a few kinks to work out!" Jack said gleefully, looking proudly at his latest creation. "I can't wait to test this baby out! Maddie's trying to get clearance for us to go to the air base this weekend for a test run, since we're not allowed to use any flying equipment on our street anymore without approval from the Mayor, thanks to that stupid public safety ruling."

"Oh, that's right, I heard about that." Paulina said thoughtfully, trying to recall the details of the incident in question. "Didn't you shoot off some sort of rocket that set, like nine houses in a row on fire?"

"Thirteen." Jack corrected glumly. "They weren't big fires, though! The roofs just got a bit singed!" Paulina giggled quietly as Jack grumbled and sulked over the ruling. If her memory served her right, the only reason the incident hadn't gotten any worse was because Danny Phantom happened upon the fires only moments later, and froze them all solid with his powers. Still, the neighborhood clearly hadn't been happy with the close call…

"So what do you have to fix before it's fully operational, anyways?" Paulina asked curiously as she circled the hovering disk, pleasantly surprised at how many parts she was able to identify.

Although she had always been pretty good in science, it wasn't until she took up ghost hunting that Paulina had realized that she had something of a knack for mechanics. After a month of studying under Maddie, Paulina could recognize many basic tools and parts used to make ghost hunting equipment on sight, and her ghost hunting teacher was always praising Paulina for her sharp observational skills and adaptability, which always delighted the cheerleader. Mostly because it meant she was getting closer to her goal of catching Phantom's eye, but partly because… well… it was just _nice_. Paulina got a lot of compliments on her looks, but almost no one ever said anything about her cleverness. Paulina had never had a problem with that before, but lately…

"-Then I need to modify the energy output and adjust the center of gravity so I can- Paulie? You okay there, kid?" Starting, Paulina jumped at Jack's inquiry. The large middle aged man frowned down at the girl in concern, looking slightly put out. "You didn't hear a word I just said, did you?" Caught, Paulina blushed in embarrassment as she realized that Jack had been talking the entire time she was thinking.

"Sorry, Mr. Fenton." Paulina sighed. "I'm just… not feeling well today. I've been getting a lot of crap from my friends about the whole ghost hunting thing and… well…"

"Oh, so THAT'S it!" Jack chortled, brightening right back up. "I remember what that was like. Why, when I first got into ghost hunting, all my friends thought I was a complete lunatic! They stopped talking to me, pretended they didn't know me, spread nasty rumors about me… but I didn't let any of it get me down! Now look at me!"

…Somehow, that didn't make Paulina feel any better.

"Oh there you are, Paulina!" Maddie said as she entered the living room, smiling warmly at the teen. "I was wondering what was keeping- What is the Ghost Glider doing in the living room?" Suddenly, Maddie's welcoming smile to Paulina did a U-turn as she glared pointedly at her husband. "Jack Fenton…!"

"I just wanted Paulie to see it before you two got started." Jack whined back, pouting. "You never let me help teach her how to ghost hunt, which is totally unfair, by the way. Aren't two heads better then one, after all?"

"Jack, do you remember what happened when you first tried to teach Jazz how to ghost hunt?" Maddie asked pointedly.

"…What's your point?"

"Jaaaaaack…"

"Okay, okay! So she lost all her hair and was bedridden for three days! It didn't lead to any permanent damage!"

"She _what_?" Paulina squeaked, instinctively covering her own luxurious black hair from any assault it may encounter. Sighing and rolling her eyes at her husband's obtuseness, Maddie gave Paulina a wry smile before turning her attention back to Jack.

"Be that as it may sweetie, I still think Paulina would feel a little more comfortable with just one teacher until she's got a little more experience under her belt. Now why don't you bring the Ghost Glider down to the lab so that you can finish tuning up the auto-targeting program? Preferably before Danny comes down and almost has his head taken off by a laser again?"

"Yeah, yeah…" Jack sighed, hitting a few buttons on a remote he seemed to pull out of nowhere, which prompted the Ghost Glider to raise another foot into the air before making a beeline for the lab. As the large man followed after the flying disc, Paulina turned to give Maddie a questioning look.

"Mr. Fenton's going to be in the lab with us today?" She asked, puzzled. Usually, the male half of the Fenton ghost hunting team worked in their garage while Maddie taught in the lab. When Paulina asked about it, Maddie had just given some vague answer about volatile equipment and ecto-acne, and the cheerleader decided that she did NOT want to know.

"Actually, we're not going to be in the lab today, sweetie." Maddie said happily. Paulina blinked at her for a moment.

"We're not?" She asked, confused. "Then where are we going to be?"

"You'll see!" Maddie giggled, motioning for the girl to follow her. Mystified, Paulina complied, totally oblivious as to what was in store for her…

* * *

"Are you serious?" Paulina squealed in disbelief, stunned at the sight that had greeted her when Maddie had led her to their destination for the day.

"Absolutely!" Maddie said cheerfully, double checking that the weapon in her hand met her satisfaction before handing it off to Paulina. "You've come a long way with your lessons, so it's time we moved on to another important part of being a ghost hunter; shooting an ecto gun." Grinning from ear to ear, Paulina accepted the weapon from the brunette, hardly containing her glee. Finally, _finally_ she was getting somewhere with this ghost hunting thing. It wouldn't be much longer until she was a full-fledged hunter, and then Danny Phantom would be hers at last!

"Now, I don't know how much you know about regular guns, but since ecto guns use ectoplasm instead of gunpowder, they have a lot more recoil and longer waiting periods in between the shots you can fire in exchange for having more power. So as a ghost hunter, you have to make sure to maintain absolute control and make every shot count. Understand, Paulina?"

"Of course, Mrs. Fenton!" Paulina agreed readily. "Besides, it can't be that hard, right? Just point and shoot, just like a camera." And, to illustrate her point, Paulina took aim at the bulls-eye painted on the cheesy ghost-shaped cut out Maddie had set up on the other side of the Fenton's yard and pulled the trigger.

"Paulina, wait-!" Maddie cried out in alarm. Unfortunately, her warning came too late. A bolt of energy shot out of the gun so forcefully that it lifted Paulina clear off her feet and sent her propelling backwards until she slammed into Fentonworks, her breath knocked out of her at the impact. Meanwhile, the blast that Paulina shot off missed it's target by about five feet, hitting the neighbor's satellite dish and sending it back towards the house, where it struck the siding with a fearsome explosion of light and sound.

"CRAP! WHAT THE- _Mom?_" Maddie sighed at the livid exclamation, which tapered off into confusion when her blue-eyed son peered through his new 'window' and saw only his deadly accurate mother as a likely culprit for the newest renovation to his room.

"Sorry about that, sweetie!" Maddie called up to the boy, who still looked pretty baffled. "We'll switch to something a little less powerful, but you should still probably head down to the lab, just in case. You can stay in Jazz's old room tonight, so you don't catch a cold." Danny looked even more bewildered at his mother's words, until a groaning Paulina pulled herself to her feet and stumbled towards Maddie, and his face instantly lit up in understanding.

"Didn't switch the gun to the lowest setting?" Danny asked dryly.

"Must've slipped my mind." Maddie laughed weakly, earning a sigh from her son as he shook his head, drywall dust flying every which way.

"I'll call the Home Improvement store for some supplies to patch this up." The teen intoned in a deadpan, turning to find his phone.

"Sorry, Danny!" Maddie chimed again as her son disappeared. Turning back to Paulina, Maddie added. "Now then, what do you say we try that again…?"

Paulina laughed weakly in response.

_This is going to be harder then I thought._

* * *

'Hard' was an understatement. Four hours of practice later, ecto-guns had officially become Paulina's own little slice of Hell.

"…Well, you're not hitting anything behind you anymore! That's an… improvement."

"I suck." Paulina admitted glumly, glaring balefully at the target she had yet to hit even once. In fact, it was probably the only thing in the Fenton's yard she hadn't hit. She'd even blasted herself with the stupid gun, for crying out loud!

At that reminder, Paulina winced and rubbed her hand against her still sore collarbone, where the energy had struck. Luckily, they'd switched to a less powerful gun and set the energy on the lowest setting, but it had still been enough to knock the wind out of the pretty cheerleader, and it was probably going to leave a nasty bruise Paulina was going to have to waste a whole bottle of concealer on to cover up, too.

"It's not that bad, dear!" Maddie assured the girl with an anxious smile. "You just need a little practice is all." Paulina shot the woman a dark look that had Maddie sighing. "Okay, a LOT of practice. But that's fine! Just because you're not exactly a natural with an ectogun doesn't mean that you can't learn to get better."

"But how am I supposed to be a ghost hunter if I can't hit the broad side of a barn, let alone a ghost." Paulina half-whined out in her frustration. Maddie hummed thoughtfully at the girl's question, before her expression brightened considerably.

"You know, I might have just the thing!" she said cheerfully, starting toward Fentonworks. "Wait right here, I'll just be a minute!" And, before Paulina could question her, Maddie disappeared into the depths of Fentonworks. Heaving a depressed sigh, Paulina turned back to her target with a vindictive glare, raising her ecto gun to take aim at the ghost's mocking grin and—

BLAM!

…clearing it's head by almost five feet and nearly turning an innocent bird into fried chicken.

Groaning, Paulina let her shoulders slump in defeat. She'd been at this all day! Shouldn't there at least be some improvement? Then again, maybe she was just hopeless, like everyone thought. Just being good at the lab work stuff wouldn't help her bring an attacking ghost down, and the way things were looking her hunting abilities would probably just end up killing all the innocent bystanders rather then stopping a malevolent spirit.

_Maybe I really should give up…_ Paulina thought woefully as she stared at the ectogun in her hand. Maddie had already rechecked the specs again after Paulina's tenth miserable failure to see if the aim of the gun was off, and took a test shot at the target when she couldn't find anything wrong. She, of course, had hit a perfect bull's eye, which clearly meant that Paulina's problems were user-error. And, at the rate things were going…

"MY HEDGES!"

Shrieking, Paulina's grip in her ectogun faltered at the shrill yell. She fumbled to try and regain the weapon in midair, but it fell from her grasp and hit the ground, misfiring a blast that came dangerously close to grazing the cheerleader's cheek. A crashing noise behind her told the girl that she'd probably broken one of the Fenton's windows, but her main attention was focus on the sour old woman currently glaring at her for all she was worth.

"You wretched little brat! What on earth have you done to my hedges?" Mrs. Dublin snapped at the girl, who felt her irritation bubble up at the woman's scolding.

"What's the big deal? They're just plants." She snapped back, a little happy to have something to take her frustrations out on.

"Hmph! Clearly someone like you doesn't understand the hard work and dedication that goes into keeping a yard looking nice." Mrs. Dublin sneered. "I figured you for the floozy the first time I saw you prancing up to the Fenton's home in those silly outfits of yours…"

…_Did this bitter old hag just call me a_ FLOOZY?

Stepping towards the woman with every intention of showing her just how much damage a girl could do with gladiator-inspired stiletto heels, Paulina didn't even notice a new presence enter the yard until someone clasped a firm hand over her shoulder to stop her potential homicide, making the girl jump before she turned to see who was holding her.

"Mrs. Dublin, is something wrong?" Danny Fenton asked, his attention focused on the old woman and not the surprised classmate he was still holding on to.

"Yes, actually." Mrs. Dublin sniffed in indignation. "My hedges have been destroyed! Just look at this mess!" Glaring at the woman one more time, Paulina did finally turn her eyes to the shrubbery the hag was making such a big deal about, promptly suppressing a guilty wince at the sight.

As if turned out, most of her missed shots had gone through the old woman's hedges, leaving gaping holes the size of oranges in their wake. Not to mention the shots that hit the ground instead, digging up grass and dirt in ways that would make a mole proud. Despite seeing that the woman may have had a point about the state of her yard though, Paulina certainly wasn't going to offer her an apology. After all, she did call her a floozy. Danny seemed to sense this, since he quickly spoke up.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Dublin, my mom probably wasn't thinking when she set up the targets for Paulina's practice." He said. Paulina doubted that though, knowing how much Maddie hated the sour old neighbor who was constantly arguing with her. "I'm heading out to the home improvement store later for some things, I'll ask about new bushes for you while I'm there. My parents will be happy to pay."

"That won't be necessary, Danny." Mrs. Dublin said, shooting Paulina another evil look. "Just tell your parents to be more careful in the future, or I'll file a complaint with the city."

"Yes, Mrs. Dublin." Danny agreed chivalrously, making the woman sigh heavily.

"Really, I just don't understand it…" She lamented, smiling at the blue eyed boy (Although for some reason, the expression sent chills down Paulina's spine, like she was seeing something really, really creepy). "You're sister's so intelligent and normal, and you are such a fine young man. How you two poor things would be related to those two nut jobs is beyond me." Mrs. Dublin shook her head as she started towards her house, missing the way that the hand Danny still kept on Paulina tightened considerably at her backhanded compliment.

"What a miserable old windbag!" Paulina exploded once Mrs. Dublin's door shut behind the woman.

"Tell me about it." Danny groused, finally removing his hand to rake it through his hair. "I can't believe she's lasted two years already. Usually, we change neighbors every six months… She's not even happy here, either. I swear she's over at our house at least five times a day to complain about something. And always at weird hours, too. Or when my parents are either too busy to talk to her or not home at all." Rolling her eyes, Paulina turned to study her classmate, blinking in surprise at the large, slightly singed hole chewed through his sleeve.

"What happened to you?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at her classmate. Although he wasn't exactly at the top of the fashion food chain, Danny usually had enough sense not to wear damaged clothing…

"Huh? Oh." Seeing where she was looking, Danny shrugged. "That last blast you shot off broke the kitchen window and almost got my arm." Paulina flushed at Danny explanation as the boy bent down to retrieve her fallen ecto gun, offering it back to the girl who merely looked at it in frustration.

"Oh, what's the use?" Paulina sighed sulkily. "I've been at it all day, and I haven't even come close to hitting the target once!"

"That bad?" Danny said, surprised.

"I almost killed you with my first shot." She reminded him sourly, glaring at the boy as if it was somehow his fault. Danny flushed and gave a nervous laugh.

"Oh, that. Don't worry about that, it's no big deal. And just chill on the ecto gun thing, it's not as hard as you're making it out to be."

"Really now?" Paulina asked, eyes narrowed. "Then I'd like to see _you_ try it."

"Paulina, I really don't think-!" The aqua-eyed girl gave her classmate her best 'defy-me-and-DIE!' glare, prompting Danny's shoulders to sag as he sighed in defeat. Straightening up, Danny brushed dirt off the knees of his jeans before lifting the ecto gun and pulling the trigger, hitting astonishingly close to Maddie's earlier bulls-eye.

Paulina stared.

"It's not hard, once you get used to handling it." Danny explained quickly before Paulina's discouragement could return, as it was threatening to do. "Mom and Dad have been showing me and Jazz how to use this stuff ever since we could properly hold them. Here, try again." Sighing dubiously, Paulina accepted the gun Danny was offering her and brought it up to aim at the target…

…only to have Danny grab the hand holding the gun before she could fire.

"Hey!" Paulina exclaimed, turning to berate the boy, only to be stopped as Danny leaned in closer, a thoughtful look on his face.

"Hang on, I think I see your problem…" He said, reaching to grab Paulina's other hand and clasp it to the gun as well. Ducking around behind the girl, Danny placed a hand on each of her shoulders. "Widen your stance a bit, so that your feet are shoulder's width apart. Good, that's it. Now keep your elbows in and take a deep breath let it out slowly and squeeze the trigger riiiight… now!" without even thinking, Paulina obeyed the boy, jumping slightly when the blast actually took out a portion of the 'ghost's' right arm.

"I hit it!" Paulina exclaimed, surprised.

"Yeah, I figured as much…" Danny said thoughtfully. "Guess your problem was really our fault. My parents are so used to shooting with just one hand, that mom never told you that keeping both hands on the ecto gun keeps it steadier. If you keep shooting like this until you're a little more comfortable, it should help speed things along."

"Thanks…" Paulina said, still a bit dazed at her success, however minor it was. Just then, movement caught the corner of her eyes, settling Paulina's attention on the neighbor house, where a familiar face was glaring balefully at her through a window. Rolling her eyes, Paulina sighed. "Don't look now, but Mrs. _Dumb_lin is spying on us."

"Probably trying to make sure we don't damage her hedges anymore." Danny said, a faint tone of annoyance entering his voice.

"Really? She seemed to give that up pretty quickly…" Paulina pointed out as she brought her gun up for a second try, making all the adjustments to her posture that Danny had shown her earlier. Pulling the trigger, Paulina couldn't restrain her delighted grin as her blast shot through the ghost's face. Still nowhere near the bull's eye, but much, _much_ better then her earlier attempts. "I mean, if she was really upset about it, then wouldn't she have taken you up on your offer to pay?"

"She never accepts money from my family for damages to her house." Danny admitted with a frown. "Probably thinks it's beneath her or something, the way she's always going off on mom and dad." Paulina glanced at the woman again, raising an eyebrow when she saw Mrs. Dublin looking not at her, but at Danny, a coy smirk playing at her lips as she studied the young man. At least until she caught Paulina's stare and glared at the girl venomously before walking further into her house in a huff. Paulina gaped at her retreat.

_Oh, no way…_

"Uh, Danny?" Paulina said, fighting back a laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of the situation. "Are you sure Mrs. Dublin doesn't have a crush on you?" The way her classmate stilled for a moment, his face turning white as a sheet before morphing into a sickly green color, told Paulina quite clearly that the thought had never once occurred to him.

"WHAT?" He sputtered. "Are you nuts? Mrs. Dublin's, like, older then my mom!"

"What, you've never heard of cougars before?" Paulina teased, quite enjoying the shock and revulsion warring for dominance across Danny's face. "I mean, she's an old widow living alone, so of course she'll want a strapping young man to shower her with affection and make her feel young again." Danny's eye twitched slightly at Paulina's explanation, and the Latina bit her lip to keep from giggling at the sight.

"Paulina, I think you've been spending way too much time with my parents. Their unique brand of crazy is starting to rub off on you." Danny said, shaking his head. Frowning curiously, the boy added, "And how'd you know Mrs. Dublin was a widow, anyways?"

"Because she doesn't wear a ring." Paulina explained, taking aim at the target again. "And I've never seen a man around her house in the whole time I've been coming here. That either means that she's divorced, or that Mr. Dublin kicked the bucket. And considering that she still goes by the title of a married woman, I figured it was probably the second." Firing, Paulina pouted for a bit when her blast hit just a couple inches below the last hit she made. Glancing back at Danny, she let an eyebrow kick up at the look of awe on his face.

"Wow Paulina, I never realized you were that observant." Danny admitted, looking thoroughly impressed. "People really _don't_ give you enough credit, do they?" Paulina managed to hold back a blush at the boy's praise, but only just.

"People like Sam Manson, you mean?" Paulina asked, unable to keep the bitterness out of her tone. Her relationship with the goth had taken a turn for the worse lately, something Paulina never would have imagined was possible. Danny seemed to sense this, if his flinch was anything to go by.

"Sam doesn't mean any real harm, she's just really opinionated sometimes." Paulina shot the boy a pointed look. "Okay, _all_ the time. But she honestly means well."

"Then she has me fooled." Paulina scoffed. Raising an eyebrow at the boy, Paulina added. "What happened while you two were dating, anyways? I mean, even the teachers were all convinced you two where going to be high school sweethearts and get married as soon as you graduate."

"Things just didn't work out, that's all." Danny said, tensing slightly at the new subject. "We argued more when we were dating. Things got tense and stressful, and neither of us were really all that happy. Eventually, we both just kinda realized that we wanted different things, and we were better off as friends. I still care about her and all, it's just… I guess you can say that we were kind of self-destructive when we're together."

"That's sort of sad, when you put it that way." Paulina mused, frowning at the boy's words. It was painful, in a way, to hear him telling her that sometimes it took more then just love to keep a relationship successful.

"It's in the past." Danny shrugged. "We both got over it. Sam's actually gone on a couple dates with some guy she met at a goth poetry slam."

"What about you?" Paulina asked. She couldn't remember any rumors of the Fenton boy dating anyone after the big break up with the goth.

"Things are a little more complicated for me." Danny admitted with a sigh. "I've got enough to worry about right now without throwing a girlfriend into the mix." Paulina raised an eyebrow at that, because really, what problems could an unpopular, quiet, clumsy boy like Danny Fenton have that were so severe, he wouldn't even consider dating? They couldn't be anywhere near as bad as her grievances, after all. Paulina kept this thought to herself though. But there was one thing that she couldn't resist adding, with a rather wicked grin at her blue eyed classmate.

"Well, if worse comes to worse, you'd always have Mrs. Dublin as an option."

Paulina couldn't help herself; at the look Danny gave the cheerleader once her 'suggestion' sank in, the young Latina promptly dissolved into a fit of hysterical laugher.

* * *

**WoM-** _Poor Danny... 'evil laugh' Paulina's been suffering almost since the story started, so I figured I'd have to make things hard on him too, just to even the score. At any rate, that's all for now, but things get REALLY fun come next chapter. Before I go, I'd like to take a second to thank you guys for being so awesome and patient with me. It's really something that a Danny Phantom story with a Danny/Paulina pairing, easily one of the most unpopular pairings in the series, is almost at 200 reviews in just five chapters. You guys are responsible for that, and I just want you all to know how humbled I am by your support and encouragement._

* * *

**Big, BIIIIG Thanks To;**

crazychick6692, Mi Bi Looney, Thunderstorm101, MetaliHead2x4, bloodmoon13, Tetsukon, stick fight3, Fair Trick, Phantom of a Rose, Kirei Tsuki, Invader Johnny, A Bibliophile, Dream Trance, egyptianqueen777, Arcellant, ghostanimal, Pterodactyl, Xdon't-mind-meX, Jynxpixie, Fantasy93, Chrizzie1, peppymint, Inky Marshmallow, Kixen, FantomoDrako, JWM, Liandra, paulinaghost, Fugitive of Gray, Quantos Prime, Vi-Violence, DPRRluvJ13MM, Hebi R., MysteryTrek, Lu-lu, AmandaSimmons95, Dream's Abyss


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